The regression model can be used to rank resident candidates prior to interview by systematically assigning weights to the information in the transcript and then summing the weights. Much of the judgment of a residency selection committee can be incorporated in a regression model. (MLW)

An application of confirmatory factor analysis, using the LISREL program, to retrospective analysis of rating data common in health professions education was illustrated. A causal model was specified and tested. Although most measures clustered around latent traits, there was more method variance in the data set than trait variance. (Author/JAZ)

Examines the way bureaucratic practices and background or schematized knowledge can influence physician-patient and physician-physician interaction and language in medical diagnostic reasoning. Provides a case study that illustrates the bureaucratic processes presupposed in the production and reproduction of knowledge in practical scientific…

A format was devised for nursing home rounds that provides for discussion among staff members and specialists and is aimed at teaching and the resolution of specific patient-care and administrative issues. Many complex medical problems were handled without transferring the patients to an acute-care facility. (Author/MLW)

A study that demonstrated that a group of medical residents could independently run microcomputer-based patient simulations and subsequently achieve significant increases in test scores is discussed. This outcome supports the use of computer-assisted instruction to provide a core of self-taught material for a clinical subspecialty rotation.…

The goals, formats, and outcomes of journal clubs in a sample of internal medicine residency programs in New York City were surveyed. The results of the survey and a description of the club in the Department of Medicine at Montefiore Medical Center are presented. (Author/MLW)

A survey of the availability of mental health resources for medical students and residents in academic medical centers found that most centers offer assistance to medical students but not to house officers. The structures and limitations of the programs for residents are described. (Author/MLW)

A study to explore the characteristics of premature diagnostic conclusions in a group of physicians, medical students, and residents is reported. When the subjects are asked to construct complete, precise problem lists from three case abstracts, premature closure occurred frequently. (Author/MLW)

The demographic, diagnostic, and prognostic characteristics of patients treated by house staff members rotating through the general medical wards of the Houston Veterans Administration Medical Center was studied. The data indicate that VA hospitals make a significant contribution to internal medicine training. (Author/MLW)

Fourth-year medical students at the four training sites of the University of Illinois College of Medicine were surveyed as to the frequency and difficulty of interpersonal conflict situations that had been identified by their peers, supervisors, and coworkers. The situations were classifaed as those requiring assertiveness or aggressiveness…

A modified Delphi survey technique was used to delineate diagnoses, management techniques, and procedural skills in seven subspecialty areas necessary for house officers in a primary care internal medicine training program. The self-evaluation approach provided a longitudinal assessment of changes in the confidence of house officers. (Author/MLW)

An investigation to address the issue of which objective factor would predict performance during the postgraduate year residency and to determine whether the performance of applicants from honors-pass-fail schools was predictable is reported. (MLW)

The American Board of Internal Medicine has requested that residency program directors certify the clinical competence of their candidates. The clinical evaluation exercise (CEX) was used by residents at the University of Michigan Hospitals and the results raised questions as to the validity of the CEX. (Author/MLW)

A method of estimating resident staffing needs is evaluated, including discussion of (1) methodological changes needed to estimate needs for service care and assisting attending physicians with private cases; (2) data collection; (3) representative findings; (4) using cost, ease of use, understandability, communicability, and validity as…

Opinions were obtained from residents, family medicine faculty, and attending physicians familiar with an established family medicine residency program regarding the tasks that family doctors should and should not perform. (LBH)